Work platforms or systems for handling liquids, for example, pipetting liquids from containers and distributing liquids into the wells of a microplate, have devices according to the species so that the container and the robot arm may be placed in relation to one another in such a way that the liquid handling is executed automatically and reproducibly. It has been shown that the precision with which a pipette tip, for example, may be automatically positioned at a location on a commercially available work platform is insufficient to routinely and precisely approach the wells of a microplate having 1536 wells. Particularly if multiple pipettes positioned along a line are used, even the slightest twisting of the microplates positionable on at least a partial region of the work field in relation to the coordinate system of the robot arm become noticeable. These twists or deviations from the ideal position relate to values on the X, Y, and Z axes in the most unfavorable case. In the event of a too large error tolerance, the danger arises that one or more pipette tips, temperature sensors, and/or pH probes, or another oblong, thin object which is to be positioned in a well will be damaged by an impact on the wall of the well and/or the surface of the microplate. In addition, in the event of a hard impact of such an object with the microplate surface, the danger arises of sample loss, and contamination of the neighboring samples and the workspace. Precise approach to the well, in which no danger of unintended contact with parts of the microplate arises, is therefore a basic requirement for routine work with a liquid handling system which may be used for automatic assaying of blood samples, for example.